23. Attempts at developing a vaccine against coronavirus have been in progress for almost 20 years at least since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in 2002. These have been unsuccessful, mainly due to serious safety concerns in the animal trialsxv xvi . Specifically, an effect of immune enhancement or antibody-dependent immune enhancement (ADIE) was observed, which caused animals to develop more severe disease when exposed to the wild virus after immunisationxvii. Instead of being protected, the animals got very sick, and some died. It is completely unknown at this stage, whether the currently administered vaccines will trigger this devastating effect, as animal trials were limited or skipped and the reaction to subsequent exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus in humans has not been specifically tested. The possibility of triggering ADEI remains a significant concernxviii xix . 24. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines contain polyethylene glycol (PEG). PEG is a known allergen which carries a risk of serious, potentially fatal allergic reactionsxx. Even within the short space of time of the vaccine being rolled out, there have been several reports of serious allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, which appear to be occurring at a higher rate than normally expected for vaccinesxxi xxii . In response to these reports, the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) issued advice that anyone allergic to PEG or its close relative, Polysorbate, should not receive either of the currently available mRNA vaccinesxxiii . 25. A leaked CDC PowerPoint presentation showed a high level (1 in 36 doses) of reported significant adverse events (leaving people unable to perform normal daily activities or to work and requiring medical attention) over the first 5 days of the US Pfizer vaccine rolloutxxiv. As of 22 January 2021, 9845 adverse events and 329 deaths relating to Covid19 vaccines had been reported to the US Government Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS)xxv . 26. Neurological damage and complications have previously been reported following vaccinations. Worryingly, in the Covid-19 vaccine trials, cases of transverse myelitis, which affects the spinal cord, have been reportedxxvi xxvii as well as other neurological adverse events, such as Bell’s palsy (paralysis of the facial nerve) reported in the Pfizer trial dataxxviii and Moderna trial dataxxix. There have also been reports of encephalomyelitis following Covid-19 vaccinationxxx . 27. Potential concerns have also been raised regarding the effects of the vaccines on fertility and on the risk of HIV acquisition. Concerns about fertility are based on homology between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and Syncytin-1, which is essential for placental developmentxxxi. Due to this homology, it is plausible that antibodies produced by the Covid-19 vaccine could cross react with the placental proteins which could negatively impact fertility. It is possible that such concerns will be refuted by evidence in due course, but currently there are no data to rule out this side-effect. 28. Concerns regarding increased vulnerability to HIV infection have been noted in relation to vaccines using an adenovirus vector (used in the Oxford/Astra-Zeneca vaccine)xxxii. More recent observations have led to renewed warnings regarding this potential effect with the Covid-19 vaccinesxxxiii . 29. Sadly, there have already been reports of deaths following administration of a vaccine against SARS-Cov-2 to healthy recipientsxxxiv xxxv . There is currently widespread administration to the general population, and specifically to the frail and elderly, who commonly have multiple comorbidities - a group which was largely excluded from the vaccine trials. Due to the lack of safety data for this group, it needs to be emphasized that administering the vaccine specifically to this group of the elderly with co-morbidities is, in our view, entirely experimental at this stage. Following the deaths of 23 elderly people following Covid-19 vaccines, Norwegian regulators have updated their advice, urging doctors to proceed with caution in administering vaccines to the very frailxxxvi . The HSE in Ireland has also recently issued advice cautioning giving the vaccines to the very frailxxxvii . 30. There is an awareness of potential harms that will occur amongst policymakers and the pharmaceutical companies. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recently updated their software to be able to capture adequately the “expected high number of adverse events”, that their legacy system would otherwise have been unable to cope withxxxviii. Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers demanded and have been granted exemption from any liability for adverse effects caused by their products as they could not “take the [financial] risk of liability”xxxix xl. There is therefore no recourse for compensation from the manufacturers and only limited compensation (£120,000 lump sum) will be available from the Government Vaccine Damage Payment schemexli in the event of serious disability or death resulting from a Covid-19 vaccine. It is worth noting that between the inception of the scheme in 1979 until December 2014 only 931 vaccine damages payment awards were made out of total of 6,026 claims submittedxlii . 31. This letter is providing you (the employer) with the evidence of the potential risks of harm from the Covid-19 vaccine novel biotechnology. If an employer makes any recommendations or mandates in relation to the vaccine, those must be considered against the backdrop of Health and Safety legislation and must take account of any health risks associated with the vaccine itself for certain groups and preferably (from a risk perspective) for individual employees.